'Needless & Dangerous': NYPD's Protest Arrests At FIT Again Draw Fire

NEW YORK CITY — The NYPD's latest crackdown on a pro-Palestinian encampment drew fresh outrage from advocates, who howled about the lopsided display of police force.

Cops arrested 50 protesters into early Wednesday at the Fashion Institute of Technology, a police spokesperson told Patch.

The arrests came as a surprise to FIT student protest organizers — who told Gothamist they believed their school leaders didn't have the stomach for the violent raids that played out on other New York City campuses — and angered advocates.

"The NYPD show of force was needless & dangerous," the New York Civil Liberties Union tweeted.

"No one should be at risk of violence by the police for making their voice heard."

Last night's pro-Palestine protest ended with hundreds of cops clearing FIT's encampment. At least 50 people were detained, including journalists.

The NYPD show of force was needless & dangerous. No one should be at risk of violence by the police for making their voice heard. https://t.co/WKlbCMbPtk
— NYCLU (@NYCLU) May 8, 2024

Videos posted by independent journalist Talia Jane, among others, showed police arresting dozens of protesters.

Another independent journalist, who posts as Oliya Scootercaster, shared video of police arresting photojournalist Olya Fedorova.

"She informed the officer that she is press, to which they responded that it doesn't matter," Oliya Scootercaster posted.

The crackdown follows similar raids at Columbia University, City College and NYU, where students and other protesters called for schools to divest from Israel amid the war in Gaza, where more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The FIT arrests unfolded as Israel began an incursion into Rafah, a Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza where about 1.3 million Palestinians have been sheltering. Israel's offensive has drawn fears of even greater Palestinian suffering.